Summer is the season of flip-flops and dripping ice cream cones, of long, lazy days at the beach, and heated baseball games. It’s the season where schedules are looser and spontaneous activities and outings are often the norm.
However, for the parents of children with ASD, summertime can be especially challenging. The change in the child’s daily schedule, lack of a regular routine, as well as travel to unfamiliar places and spending time with extended family who may not understand autism, can all be triggering for the child.
La buena noticia es que, con una planificación adecuada, puede seguir disfrutando de los meses de verano con su hijo. Aquí tienes cinco consejos para que tú y tu hijo paséis un verano tranquilo, relajado y superdivertido.
- Crear un programa diario
Con la vuelta al cole, es posible que su hijo no sepa cómo ocupar su tiempo. Para un niño que no sabe entretenerse por sí mismo, los días vacíos pueden convertirse en una catástrofe.
Avoid this and keep your child—and yourself—happy by creating a daily schedule for summer days. You can do this together with your child or work on it alone, being careful to fill time slots from wakeup time until bedtime. Allow for free play in small intervals throughout the day and build daily behaviors, such as brushing teeth and showering, into the schedule as well. If your child will be receiving therapy in the summer, be sure to incorporate these sessions into the schedule as well.
When your schedule is complete, hang it in a prominent place where your child can reference it as needed. You may want to hang more than one copy around the house, such as sticking one up on the fridge, and another on the wall in your child’s bedroom. If your child is too young to read, use pictures to show activities on the schedule instead of written words.
Contar con una rutina diaria estable facilitará que su hijo se adapte al horario más flexible de los meses de verano.
- Evalúe las capacidades de su hijo a la hora de planificar actividades y viajes
Before you make any definitive summer plans, take an honest assessment of your child’s abilities and threshold of tolerance. It’s likely not a good idea to challenge that tolerance during your annual vacation or at the family reunion weekend. Instead, try to choose activities and trips that your child can easily handle. Consider hobbies and interests that your child would love to explore during the school months. Look for ways your child can build on those interests during their expanded free time in the summer. Finally, when planning activities and trips, avoid those that can cause sensory overload and upset your child.
- Prepare cuidadosamente los viajes
Day trips and longer getaways are a fixture in the American summer. As a family with a child on the autism spectrum, you know that things will be a little different for you and that a change in your child’s surroundings can be triggering. These tips can help keep things calm on trips:
- Prepare a su hijo con antelación. Hable con su hijo sobre el viaje y hágale saber lo que le espera antes de partir. Si es posible, enséñele fotos del destino para que su nuevo entorno no sea una completa sorpresa. Incluso puede crear un horario para el día del viaje, o para unas vacaciones de varios días, de modo que su hijo sepa qué esperar a lo largo del viaje.
- Llame con antelación a su destino para saber si pueden atender a sus necesidades sensoriales. Let them know you have a child with autism and share your child’s specific struggles. Some venues will agree to lower the music for a child with auditory sensitivity. Some airlines allow a child with ASD to board the plane before takeoff so they can explore their new surroundings.
- Aporta comodidad. Las pequeñas comodidades de casa, como una manta favorita, un osito de peluche o un juguete sensorial, pueden contribuir en gran medida a que tu hijo sea un viajero feliz.
- Disponga de un plan de emergencia. Asegúrese de planificar cualquier eventualidad durante su viaje. Lleve consigo cualquier medicamento calmante que pueda utilizar en alguna ocasión. Lleve una foto de su hijo por si se pierde. Piense en una salida alternativa en caso de que la primera opción resulte un desastre para su hijo.
Con una planificación adecuada, podrá disfrutar de una escapada divertida con toda su familia.
- Comuníquese con los miembros de la familia con antelación
If your summer plans include visits to or from extended family members you don’t see often, it’s best to communicate with them in advance about your child’s specific needs and behaviors. For example, you can let them know your child is most comfortable seated on their own chair as opposed to squeezing together with their cousins on a bench. You can tell them that your child prefers not to be hugged or kissed and let them know that you will be bringing your own food for your child, if relevant. The more you communicate in advance, the less room you’ll leave for meltdowns and misunderstandings.
- Don’t neglect practicing academic, social and behavioral skills
School is out, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to neglect your child’s schoolwork. Make sure to build time into your daily schedule for summer homework, or for practicing schoolwork in another way, such as through an educational app or online game. Similarly, it’s important to incorporate time for any “therapy homework” your child may need to do at home, such as practicing social and behavioral skills they’ve learned in therapy.
El verano con un niño con espectro TEA puede ser un poco diferente al de las familias con niños neurotípicos, pero con algunos ajustes en las expectativas y mucha planificación previa, puede disfrutar de unas vacaciones de verano divertidas con toda la familia.
